Pink Versus Red
by Little Lady Mab
Summary: Egoist: Hiroki ponders just what a 'pink and fluffy' love is, and wonders just why his isn't.


Hiroki had always been told that when you were in love, there was always a distinct _pink_ color. He never understood what that meant, not when he had been in love with Akihiko, and not when he was in love with Nowaki. (_What's with this 'pink and fluffy' feeling crap?! What the hell is that supposed to mean? Wasn't pink a color of tranquility? And such a __girly__ color.)_

Whenever Nowaki wasn't home (which had been often as of late, when he started to pick up more shifts at the hospital), Hiroki had taken to reading a book on colors. Just to try and understand this _pink_ feeling he was supposed to be experiencing. (_Maybe that means I'm not in love with him? No no no no... I'm certain that's not the case._)

_Pink. Softer and less violent. Sweeter. It's cotton candy and bubble gum and babies, especially little girls._ (_What the hell. Little girls?! That makes it sound so loli-con status_)

Hiroki tossed that book aside and grabbed another.

_Pink is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink. A pink carnation means "I will never forget you". Pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance._

(_WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS FLUFFY CRAP. Is that what being in love is really like?!_)

For a moment, he was distressed. If that was what being in love was like, then something was certainly wrong. There were certain elements of pink, so he couldn't feel too off-track. His watch beeped and he jumped. (_What... 2:00 in the morning already...?_) That would mean Nowaki would be home in less than an hour. He said that his shift ended at two.

Frantically, Hiroki began to dig through the other colors in the books. Maybe blue? That was a more manly color. Or green--Nowaki said his favorite color was green.

--

He didn't realise he had fallen asleep until he felt large warm hands caressing the side of his face. "Ah, Hiro-san, you're awake. You shouldn't sleep on the couch like this, you'll catch a cold."

"S-shut up, idiot," Hiroki muttered with a sleepy wave of his hand. His watch read 2:45.

"Hiro-san, what are all these?" Nowaki held one of the books regarding colors in his hands.

(_Great! I didn't even clean up the books!_) "Nothing!" he snapped in an irritated voice, snatching the book away and hurrying to collect up the others.

Nowaki smiled softly and caught Hiroki's chin with his hand. "Hiro-san is so cute," he said and leaned in to kiss his partner.

"A grown man is not cute!" he sputtered in protest. A blush rose up in his cheeks, and despite his efforts, his breath was just a little bit short.

_The most emotionally intense color, red stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing._

Nowaki only offered another smile as he shrugged off his jacket and shifted his bag to the floor. Hiroki knew that Nowaki knew that his protests really meant little.

"What color do you think love is?" he asked, holding up a hand to block the incoming kiss from Nowaki.

The younger male looked startled for a moment. His heavy-lidded eyes drifted over to the pile of books that had been shoved from the couch. "I always thought it was supposed to be pink and have a fluffy feeling."

Hiroki lowered his head so he didn't have to look at the figure across from him--even in the dark room, he could make out the even stare from the dark eyes. "W-what color do you think ours is?" He was blushing again (_damn it, how unmanly!! Maybe pink __is__ the answer and I just can't see it..._)

"Certainly not pink and fluffy..." Nowaki muttered. He looked a little disheartened as if the same realization had occurred to him as well: _Not pink means... not in love?_

(_No. No no no no no there is no way that could be true!! I won't allow it! I can't admit that, but I won't allow it!_) With stiff motions, Hiroki reached up and pulled Nowaki's face over to his to kiss him. It was rough and a little sloppy, but the message was clear.

(_I love you, pink or not._)

Eager to not lose the chance of the rare show of affection, Nowaki corrected the kiss into something a little more _passionate_ (well, maybe more than 'a little') and started to push Hiroki down on the couch.

_Red is the color of blood, and as such has strong symbolism as life and vitality. It brings focus to the essence of life and living with emphasis on survival. Red is also the color of passion and lust._

(_Oh. That's it... I get it now..._) His shirt was off before he had time to realise what was happening, but didn't care to complain. (_We're not pink. We've passed that stage of fluffy colors. We're men--none of this 'soft and less violent' stuff._) It was getting harder to breathe.

Nowaki pulled away from the kiss and leaned over to whisper into his ear. "Let's move to the bed." He had that all-too-familiar smile on his face that Hiroki knew meant he wasn't going to get a lot of sleep that night.

Their color wasn't pink. It was a dark red.


End file.
